Habit, Routine Practice
by raisintorte
Summary: After the events of Duet, McKay and Cadman reach an understanding. [McKay Cadman friendship, flirting] [Spoilers through Duet]


**Title:** Habit; Routine Practice  
**Pairing:** McKay/Cadman  
**Spoilers:** Through Duet.  
**Summary:** After the events of Duet, McKay and Cadman reach an understanding.  
**A/N:** This is for **daisycm83** and our fanfic10 challenge. The prompt was: _The continued trials of McKay's love life, McKay/Cadman friendship._ This is probably more on the side of flirting than friendship, but it does involve Rodney's love life, it just happens to be _with_ Cadman. Thanks to **shadowserenity** and **caroly214** for the wonderful beta work.

_"Evidence of the habit of a person . . . whether corroborated or not and regardless of the presence of eyewitnesses, is relevant to prove that the conduct of the person or organization on a particular occasion was in conformity with the habit or routine practice."_ Fed. R. Evid. 406.

* * *

Rodney had only been out of the infirmary and asleep for two hours when he forced awake by someone shaking his arm.

"Rodney! Wake up! Come on, I can see your eyes fluttering. Open them!" He opened his eyes a little wider and saw Cadman leaning over him.

It took him a second to gather his thoughts. "Wha? What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping in your own quarters?" Rodney moved towards the edge of the bed and started to sit up.

"I couldn't sleep. It felt weird you know? Being back in me. I thought _maybe_ . . . you wouldn't mind if I stayed here with you tonight?" Cadman looked at Rodney a little sheepishly.

Rodney scooted over to make room Cadman in the bed. "Yes, you can stay, as long as you shut up and let me sleep. My body is a little tired from _someone_ taking it on a jog around Atlantis."

"Thanks, Rodney." Cadman sat down on the edge of the bed and started taking off her shoes and socks. Rodney didn't think anything of it when she stood up and took off her shirt, until he realized she wasn't wearing anything on under it. He started sputtering and was almost speechless when she started taking off her sweatpants.

"Woah, woah, woah! What are you doing? Clothes on, Cadman! Clothes on!" Rodney moved to cover his eyes with his hands.

Laura gave him a surprised look. "You know I sleep naked Rodney!"

Rodney pulled the sheet he was gripping up to his chin. "Not in this bed you don't!"

"No wonder you have trouble getting women if you make them keep their clothing on in bed! Also, we did share a brain, and I am about to sleep in your bed, so you should probably call me Laura." Cadman -- Laura grumbled but she pulled her pants back up. She walked over to Rodney's dresser and started rifling through the drawers. Given their prior _living situation_, she knew where everything was and quickly changed into one of Rodney's tee shirts and a pair of his boxers.

"I don't know if I mentioned this before, McKay but I am rather fond of your Dalek boxers. Not surprised you're a Dr. Who fan." Laura walked over to the bed and got under the covers.

"If I wasn't so tired, I would comment on the fact you are _wearing my underwear_, but you know what? Given the events of the last week, I'm just going to go with it. Goodnight, Cadman. Wake me up before 10 am and you will never have hot water again." Rodney thought the lights off, turned on his side facing away from Laura and closed his eyes.

"Night, Rodney." Even though Rodney had the most uncomfortable mattress in Atlantis, having him there felt better than sleeping in her own room so she flipped onto her back and closed her eyes.

* * *

Laura awoke to the unfamiliar sensation of something very soft and very hot wrapped around her. She almost jumped but then remembered where she was and who she was with.

_Who knew McKay was a snuggler?_ She opened her eyes to see exactly how they were positioned.

Somehow during the course of the night they had both migrated into the center of the bed. Laura was lying on her side, her arms wrapped around her front with her back pressed into Rodney's chest. Rodney had one arm wrapped under her stomach and the other was lying on top of her holding her hand. Aside from the extreme heat radiating off Rodney, it was rather comfortable.

"Mmpphh" Rodney grumbled as he shifted and pulled Laura closer. She didn't really think he was awake yet. She glanced over at the clock and saw it was only 9:45am. Fifteen more minutes before she could wake him up without repercussions.

Laura yawned.

_This really was quite comfortable_, she thought, snuggling in closer to Rodney. She decided to just close her eyes for the last few minutes, and then she could wake Rodney without getting in trouble.

* * *

Rodney awoke feeling very cozy and content. He was warmer and more comfortable than he been in a long time. Rodney had always been slow to wake up. It took him a few minutes to realize the soft warm thing he was snuggled against was Cadman. His first reaction was to back far, far, away. But he really was comfortable - and besides, he didn't want to accidentally wake her.

Rodney's brain started working a mile a minute. Laura was going to kill him. He had his arms wrapped around her. Wait! Why should she kill him? She was the one who invaded his bed. It was _her_ fault he was wrapped around her. But still, he had better try and extricate himself from this situation before she woke up.

Rodney started to slowly pull his arm out from under Laura but stopped short when she started mumbling. Crap. He was never going to get out of this. He tried again to move his arm, and again she mumbled. All right, Plan A wasn't working. Time for Plan B. When in doubt? Snark.

"Cadman! Wake up! You're on my arm and I want it back." Rodney started yanking on his arm.

"What? Rodney, stop pushing! What are you doing?" Laura rolled off Rodney's arm and turned to face him.

Rodney glared at her. "What am I doing? What does it look like I'm doing? Trying to get my arm back. _You_ were on it."

Laura looked a little put out. "_I_ was laying on _your_ arm? Last time I checked you were wrapped around me like warm blanket."

Rodney sat up and glared at her. "This is not _my_ fault. _You_ are the one who got into my clothing and climbed into my bed."

Laura took a deep breath. "Calm down, Rodney, back up a step here. I'm not accusing you of anything or blaming you for anything."

Rodney gave Laura a suspicious look. "You're not?"

"No, I'm not. Truth be told, I slept very well last night -- your uncomfortable mattress not withstanding." Laura smiled at him.

Rodney looked defensive for a second before his smile softened. "It's prescription! . . . And I slept rather well myself."

Laura glanced at the clock, got up and walked over to where she had dropped her clothing. "Well, it's after 11. I promised Carson I would check in sometime this morning, and then I have to write my report on the incident. I better head out."

Rodney got up and started puttering around the room trying to look busy. "Yeah, I should probably go make sure Zelenka hasn't blown up the lab or anything. God only knows what has happened during my absence." Rodney walked Laura to his door and started fidgeting with his hands.

"Umm, just so you know, if you're having trouble adjusting, or need to stop by or anything, my door is always open."

Laura turned to Rodney and gave him a big hug, causing him to squeak in surprise. "Thanks, Rodney. I may have to take you up on that." Laura headed out the door and off to shower before seeing Beckett.

* * *

It had been a long day for Rodney. He really was smarter than everyone on Atlantis and the fact the labs had almost fallen apart in his absence was proof of that. Granted, most of the staff had been working on getting Cadman out of his brain, and therefore had justifiably neglected their other projects. Nevertheless, that didn't change the fact that the lab was still a mess.

Rodney opened his door and stripped down to his drawers without even turning on the light. His body was still sore from Cadman's jog around Atlantis, and he just wanted to fall into bed.

Rodney pulled back the sheets on his bed and sat down. Right on Cadman.

"Rodney!" Laura shrieked.

Rodney jumped up, thought the lights on, and looked at his bed. "Cadman! What are you doing here?"

"You told me your door was always open. I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have presumed." Laura started to get up out of bed. Rodney noticed she was in his shirt and boxers again.

Rodney put his arm on his hand to stop her. "Wait, I did say that, but I didn't think you would actually take me up on it."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep, and I slept so well last night. I thought maybe . . .I don't want to be a bother. I'll just leave." Laura said, keeping her eyes downcast the entire time. She tried to get up again but Rodney kept his hand on her arm, holding her in place.

"You know what? I'm so tired, and it would be more of a bother for you to move around and get dressed. Scoot over." Laura scooted over and Rodney got into his side of the bed and closed his eyes.

When Rodney's alarm went off the next morning he once again found himself wrapped around Laura, warm and cozy. Laura, hearing Rodney's alarm, woke up at the same time. They got up and dressed -- Rodney going into the bathroom to get ready for his day, and Laura heading back to her room to get ready for hers.

They rarely saw each other during the day, but every night they ended up sleeping in the same bed. Sometimes Laura would have the late shift and she would come in after work, push Rodney over, and fall asleep. On the days Rodney had to work late he would come home and find her already asleep in his bed. They never talked about it. It just happened.

Over the next few weeks more and more of Laura's stuff started showing up in Rodney's room. An extra uniform in the closet, her socks and undergarments in his dresser, her toiletries in his bathroom. Rodney never asked, but he knew she stayed there when he was off-world.

The rumor mill was having a field day with their relationship. While Rodney and Laura didn't talk about what was going on with them, whatever it was, others were not so inclined. McKay and Cadman sightings were the hottest fodder in the gossip mill. Drs. Simpson and Biro had seen Cadman leaving McKay's quarters in the early morning on five separate occasions and Major Lorne and Sgt. Stackhouse on two more. Since most of Atlantis was not privy to the fact Laura had once been a resident of McKay's brain, almost everyone thought they were having a torrid affair.

Since Laura and Rodney generally didn't cross paths during the day and refused to talk to anyone about the situation, aside from snarky comments to mind their own business, the gossips focused on the rooming situation. If the rumor mill was to be believed, Laura had moved into Rodney's quarters and they were planning a spring wedding on the mainland.

Rodney and Laura went on, sleeping and cuddling, hanging out in the evenings, and generally ignoring the speculation until it all came to head one night while Rodney was off-world and Laura was at girl's poker night.

This was the first poker night Laura had been able to attend since the incident and she had been looking forward to it all week. She put on her sweats and made her way to the rec room. It was supposed to be her, Katie Brown, Simpson, Biro, and Kate Heightmeyer.

Everyone was already present. They became silent when Laura walked in with her bag of currency which, this week, included chocolate bars and coffee, some of which she had thieved from Rodney.

Laura knew that rumors about her and Rodney had hurt Katie's feelings but they had worked through that shortly after the rumors began. While Katie liked Rodney, there were too many things he couldn't tell her and really, he was too high maintenance for her. Anyway, she was now happily dating Dr. Parrish in biology.

When Laura walked over to the table and sat down, everyone was staring at her, as though they expected her to say something. "What? Is there something on my face?" No one responded right away so Laura started arranging her chocolate and coffee in front of her.

The girls kept looking at each other as if trying to decide who was going to say what they were all obviously thinking, which Laura figured had something to do with Rodney.

Kate finally broke the ice and gave Laura a long look. "Soooo?"

Laura gave Kate an innocent look. "So . . . what?"

Katie threw some cards at Laura's head. "Rodney, Laura, tell us about Rodney! You stay there every night. Hello, he's off world right now and you're still staying there. Come on, dish."

"There's nothing to tell. Yes, I have stayed there a few times, but nothing is going on. We are not having a torrid affair, we are not in a relationship, we are just friends." Laura gathered the cards up from the table and started shuffling to keep herself busy.

Simpson snorted. "Right! 'Just friends.' That's why Rodney's been smiling more frequently and has been a little less testy in the labs. I'm sure 'just friends' is also why you look like you're thoroughly rested. If you don't want to tell us, just say so, but don't lie."

"I'm not lying. There is nothing going on. Now, in a not so subtle attempt to shift this conversation away from me and my alleged love life, have you guys heard the latest on Ronon and Teyla? I heard she threw mashed potatoes at him in the mess the other day." Laura dealt the cards and thankfully the girls took the hint and the conversation moved on to other base antics.

The poker game went on for a few hours and Laura had a really great time. It was very relaxing and fun to spend time with the girls.

After the game ended and everyone finished cleaning up Laura started to make her way back to Rodney's quarters. The conversation at the start of the night made her think. Was she being fair to Rodney to keep staying with him every night and subjecting him to these rumors?

Rodney was still going to be off world for two more days. Maybe she could take her stuff out of his room and stay in her own while he was gone. Laura entered Rodney quarters, still undecided about what to do.

_This was silly, she could sleep on her own, couldn't she?_

Making the decision to try to sleep in her own quarters, Laura packed up the few belongings she kept in Rodney's room and went back to her own quarters. If it didn't work out, she would be able to bring them back before Rodney even noticed they were missing.

Before she left she did one last sweep of the room to make sure she got everything. She saw his _I'm with Genius_ tee shirt and Dalek boxers folded on the chair. Those really were her favorite pajamas, and she didn't think he would notice if she took them. She threw them into her bag and headed off to her room.

* * *

P3X-587 had been a cold, dreary, swampy, wet, waste of time. Thankfully Colonel Sheppard had agreed, so they decided to head back to Atlantis two days early. All Rodney wanted to do was get cleared medically, take a long hot shower, and curl up in bed with Laura.

Having accomplished the medical clearance he made his way to his quarters hoping Laura didn't have a late shift and that she would already be there. Spending nights away from her off-world made him realize how used to being around her he had become.

Rodney opened his door and was very disappointed when he discovered Laura wasn't there. It was only 10pm. She was probably on the night rotation. Rodney went and took his shower and got into bed and quickly fell asleep.

Rodney wasn't really sure what woke him up at 2 am but he just wasn't feeling right. Laura still wasn't there. Rodney looked around his room and realized what was wrong. All of Cadman's stuff was gone. He went over and booted up his laptop and checked the military schedule. Laura was on Atlantis and she was off duty.

Rodney didn't know what had happened while he was gone but he started getting rather annoyed. They had spent enough time together that he at least deserved an explanation if she was just going to dump him like that.

The rational part of Rodney, what little of it there actually was at this time of night, wanted to wait until the morning to confront Laura but the snarky, tired, cranky part of Rodney won and he quickly dressed and headed to Laura's room.

* * *

Rodney walked up to Laura's door, unlocked it with his override code, and opened it without knocking. There were some benefits of being the chief scientist. He stormed into the room and over to where Laura was sleeping. He stripped out of most of his clothing and pulled back the sheets.

Laura, waking when he yanked on the sheets, jumped up in bed and glared at him. "Rodney! What are you doing!"

Rodney rolled his eyes and stood over her bed. "Three months ago, you break in to my room, try to get naked, and hop in my bed. You keep doing this for _three months_. And then one day you just don't show up. Don't say anything or consult me. Did you even stop to consider the fact I might have gotten used to having you around? Scoot over."

"What?" Laura looked confused for a second.

Rodney made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Scoot over! I'm getting into bed with you."

"Rodney, we don't have to keep doing this anymore. I'm fine, I wanted to stop bugging you . . . I wanted to stop the rumors."

Rodney gave Laura his best 'you idiot' look.

"Ohhhh, you're fine. So that's how this works. Thank you so much for clarifying. You're fine, so we stop. Did you ever think for a second that I might not be fine? Or the fact that I maybe enjoyed our little sleepovers or that I might need them as much as you did? I didn't start out needing them. I was sleeping just fine when you burst into my room, but now I've gotten rather used to having you around." Rodney backed away from the bed and moved over to Laura's couch, putting some distance between the two of them.

Laura sat up in bed and pulled the sheet up to her chin, hoping Rodney wouldn't notice she was wearing his tee shirt and boxers.

"I don't know, Rodney. I guess I didn't think you would care. I mean, with all the rumors and the gossip, I thought it might be getting to you, and I should stop coming over, because you never really invited me and maybe you were just being too nice to tell me to leave."

Rodney scoffed at Laura. "Yes, because that's my personality. I'm a nice and tolerant person. Do you really think I would have let you stay for _three months_ if I had a problem with it? Have you ever known me to keep my mouth shut about anything?"

"No! That's why I was so surprised you haven't said anything about the current rumors. You aren't even denying them."

"Because they are ludicrous. A winter wedding in the gateroom? A secret love child hidden under my bed? I'm not going to justify those. Neither of us has the time for a relationship. What we have is, well I don't know what we have, but I like it, and I don't know where it will go, if anywhere, but it's nice. This might be selfish but I like coming home every night and having someone there. I like sitting on my couch and watching movies with you. I don't have to explain myself or talk even, and yes, you try and give me advice on women and life and we've both seen how well that worked out, but it's nice."

"But what if you want a relationship? What if I want a relationship?"

Rodney gave her a questioning look. "Do you now?" Laura shook her head in the negative. "Then don't worry about it. Life is too short out here to play the what-if game. I suck at relationships. You were in my head, you know this."

Rodney got up and walked over to the bed. "I'll leave if you want, but I would really like to stay."

Laura scooted over and patted the bed for Rodney. "Nah, it's kinda cold tonight, and you are better than any heater the ancients could design."

Rodney got into the bed, thought the lights off, and pulled Laura up against him. "Move your stuff back in tomorrow?"

"Yes. Goodnight, Rodney."

"Night, Cadman"

--fin--


End file.
